


Tangible Bonds

by Yrindor



Category: Bleach
Genre: Ear Piercings, M/M, Needles, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Shunsui Pierces Ukitake's Ears, Touching, Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-03-07
Packaged: 2018-05-25 05:17:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6181762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yrindor/pseuds/Yrindor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shunsui and Ukitake have been together for millennia, but when Shunsui takes over the position of Head Captain, they are forced apart more frequently.  Ukitake asks for something to remind him of Shunsui even when they're separated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tangible Bonds

**Author's Note:**

> This fic assumes that Shunsui does take over captaincy of the First Division, but ignores pretty much all other canon post-Fake Karakura Town arc.
> 
> Thanks to [alamerysl](http://archiveofourown.org/users/alamerysl) for beta-reading.

"Are you sure about this, Jyū?" Shunsui asks.

"Quite sure. I've had how many centuries to consider it?" Ukitake replies.

"Then why don't you ask Shinji? Or Shūhei? Hell, Retsu's probably more qualified than me."

Ukitake's laugh is warm, like the light from the lamps along the walls of his room. "Are you nervous, Head Captain?" he asks playfully, sliding a small package across the floor between them.

Shunsui swallows hard as he reaches out and takes it. Two needles, begged off of Unohana and still in their sterile packages, and two earrings; they're simple silver studs from the front, but the backs, where they'll lie against Ukitake's ears, are etched with a stylized flower bounded by a ring in two parts. Katen Kyōkotsu and Sōgyo no Kotowari, bound together as one and pressed to Ukitake's skin.

It's a promise, an affirmation of the bond between them. It's something Ukitake has wanted for years, but the time never seemed quite right, and when they were always side-by-side on the battlefield, it never felt so urgent. Head Captain Shunsui isn't always at his side though, the demands of the position forcing him to stay behind and coordinate, or to go elsewhere where he's needed, leaving Ukitake to fight alone.

After two thousand years, their souls have twined together so much it's sometimes difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins, each zanpakutō regularly brushing the mind of the other's master. Ukitake knows the look of Shunsui's soul thread as he knows his own, feels the joy and pain radiating from it as if they were his own. It nourishes him too, radiates warmth that buoys him up when he's worn down by his illness.

But he wants something more. Something tangible that will remind him of the weight of Shunsui's soul and the warmth of his embrace, even when that bond is stretched thin by distance. And so Ukitake does his research, quietly collects what he needs, and finally, one night when they've both just returned from an exceedingly dull and tiring mission that kept them apart for days, he asks for the thing they've only ever discussed as a hypothetical.

"Pierce my ears, Shunsui," he says. "Give me a permanent reminder of the bond between us."

"So be it," Shunsui replies, "but if it's to be by my hands, then we'll do it as I wish." He sets the needles and earrings aside, rising and offering a hand to Ukitake. "Come," he says. "If this is to be the mark of our bond, I refuse to make it in a space so tainted by death and dust and weariness."

He leads Ukitake to the bath, wasting no time in stripping off his travel-stained clothing and scrubbing the worst of the dirt off of his skin before sinking into the bath. Ukitake follows close behind him, sighing as the steam rising off of the water eases the tightness in his lungs. At first, it is enough just to soak, letting the last of the tension of the mission dissolve into the water and reveling in the hedonistic pleasure of a hot bath with nowhere to be and no one to interrupt them, but eventually Ukitake moves to wash his hair. Shunsui is there almost immediately, pushing his hands back down and taking over, his hands gentle as he works the last of the sweat and blood out of Ukitake's hair, the long strands fanning out into the water behind him. When he finishes, it is Ukitake's turn to take over, working his fingers through Shunsui's curls and teasing out any remaining dirt trapped in them.

They finish, but they're in no rush, so they stay, relaxing and letting the water support them. They don't speak. They don't need to. The gentle brush of their fingers across the other's skin and the feelings in their intertwined reiatsu say so much more than could ever be expressed in a few words.

When Shunsui finally stretches and drags himself out of the bath, Ukitake follows, drying himself before putting on the yukata Shunsui hands him. They return to the main room. Ukitake sits where Shunsui indicates, and Shunsui kneels behind him, taking a comb and beginning the long process of untangling his hair. Shunsui takes his time; they don't have anywhere to be. 

When the last of the knots have been teased out, he pulls it back into a long tail. It's a sight he hasn't seen in almost a century, since the time Ukitake stopped pulling his hair back in favor of letting it fall free down his back (Ukitake says he likes the way it looks this way better, but Shunsui knows the real cause for the change was a bout of illness that left Ukitake too weak and too sore to tie it back).

Shunsui takes advantage of the sight and runs his fingers along Ukitake's now-exposed ears, pausing to press a kiss to his fingertips and transfer it back to the soft skin. He stops when Ukitake's two third seats enter, with a minimum of chatter for once, and set out a light meal for them at the low table in the center of the room.

It's another luxury, eating a hot meal at an actual table, and they savor it. They linger, but eventually the last drops of tea are gone, and by unspoken agreement they acknowledge that it's time to move on. Shunsui lights several sticks of incense and leaves them in the corners of the room, the thick scent driving out any final lingering traces of their earlier mission.

Ukitake sits by the earrings they had abandoned earlier while Shunsui goes through his ritual, lighting one more stick of incense and tracing trailing curls of smoke in each corner before leaving it burning on the table. Ukitake watches Shunsui and tries to ignore the earrings and needles that seem to be calling to him from the floor. With all other distractions gone, and with the last several hours focused solely on building up to this moment, he finds himself suddenly and inexplicably nervous.

Shunsui finishes his ritual, washes his hands, and joins Ukitake, helping him to lie down and making sure his hair doesn't leave any uncomfortable lumps under his neck. He takes a small cloth and drenches it in disinfectant. It's cold in contrast to the warmth of the room, and Ukitake shivers involuntarily as Shunsui rubs it over his ear, his attention focusing in on the sensation and the feel of Shunsui's fingers against his skin.

Shunsui pauses, rests a hand on Ukitake's cheek. "You're still sure?" he asks.

"Please," Ukitake replies, looking Shunsui squarely in the eyes.

Shunsui picks up the first needle, the sound of the wrapper loud in the silence of the room. It's not that big, not really, but somehow it seems much larger. Shunsui moves, and Ukitake can't see the needle anymore, but he feels when the tip of it presses to his ear. He doesn't take his eyes off Shunsui, holding his breath in anticipation until his lungs start burning.

Then, suddenly, the needle moves and Shunsui's hand is pressing against his chest. He chokes as he starts to breathe again.

"Too much?" Shunsui asks as he catches his breath.

Ukitake shakes his head. "Just caught me off guard."

"You don't have to watch."

Ukitake squeezes Shunsui's hand. "I don't want to miss it," he says, eyes wide. "This is our moment."

"Remember to breathe then," Shunsui orders, hands going back to Ukitake's ear.

Ukitake can't stop watching Shunsui. The tip of the needle scratches against his earlobe again, and he forces himself to breathe. He feels his heart pounding in his chest, wonders if Shunsui hears it too. When he exhales, Shunsui drives the needle through his ear. His breath catches as his focus narrows to the sharp sting in his ear and the way it moves as Shunsui replaces the needle with the earring. It's a line of fire tracing through his ear; with nothing else to distract him from the sensation, it is intense and all-consuming. Shunsui douses the fresh piercing with more disinfectant, the cold liquid dulling the fire.

Shunsui moves to his other side, runs his fingers along the side of Ukitake's jaw. Ukitake turns his head to look at him and smiles. This is everything he wanted. He's glad Shunsui made them wait; there are no distractions now, nothing but them and their bond. Shunsui unwraps the second needle, and the sound of the wrapper pulls Ukitake's focus back.

The second piercing is even more intense than the first. Now that he knows what to expect, he's able to stay focused on Shunsui. His vision goes black around the edges, narrowing until he can see nothing but Shunsui's face. The sensation is too much, the fire in his ear, and Shunsui's single-minded focus on it; the fact that Shunsui is the one causing it. He wants to move, wants to pull away, or reach out and grab Shunsui's hands, anything to ground him and give him more control over the sensation threatening to overwhelm him. 

Every muscle in his body tenses as he forces himself to stay still until Shunsui's hands finally move away. His breath leaves him in a rush as he collapses bonelessly back into the floor. He knows he's shaking, but he can't seem to stop.

Shunsui's hand touches his shoulder, and he follows it, scrambling upright to wrap his arms around Shunsui, then fall against him as he's hit by a sudden wave of lightheadedness.

"Jyū?" Shunsui asks, sounding vaguely worried, his hand a grounding weight across the back of Ukitake's neck.

Ukitake can't seem to find words; he shakes his head and holds Shunsui tightly as he comes back to himself, the intensity of the piercings slowly fading.

"Thank you," he whispers when he finally finds his voice. 

Shunsui's holding him tightly, and Sōgyo no Kotowari and Katen Kyōkotsu are both curling around his mind. It's everything he's ever wanted, and in the center of it, his new piercings throb faintly, tying all of them together.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and feedback are welcome and appreciated.


End file.
